Chatter Gas
by A Pretty Little Nightmare
Summary: Hamadas for generations would hear the tale of the time Hiro turned into a complete fool after getting his wisdom teeth out.


Tadashi pulled his aunt's truck to a stop in front of the cafe. He looked at his little brother in the passenger seat, his face pressed against the window and his mouth hanging open. (Was he… drooling?) Tadashi couldn't tell if Hiro was asleep or if he was in some kind of anesthesia-induced daze, seeing as one of his eyes appeared to be half-open. He gently poked his brother's arm and whispered, "Hiro."

"Bwah!" Hiro jumped upright in his seat. He rubbed his cheek, glancing around like he wasn't entirely sure where he was.

"We're home," said Tadashi, laying a hand on his brother's shoulder. "How do you feel?"

"My face hurts," Hiro groaned around the cotton stuffed between his teeth.

With a laugh, Tadashi nodded. "Yeah, it's gonna." He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door.

"Can you carry me?"

His foot hovered above the sidewalk. He turned back to Hiro, who stared at him pleadingly. It might have been sad if Tadashi didn't think it was so hilariously cute. "Yeah," he replied with a grin. "Hang on."

As he got out and shut the door behind him, making his way around the front of the truck, he could hear his brother's delirious cry of, "Wait, don't leave me in here, I'll suffocate!" When Tadashi tapped on the window, Hiro nearly jumped out of his skin. "How did you get out there?!" he shouted.

"Science," Tadashi replied, opening the door.

Hiro rolled his eyes. "You're such a _neeeerrrrd_."

"If you say so." Tadashi leaned over his brother and unclasped his seatbelt, then scooped him up in his arms and kicked the door closed. He walked back around the truck, stopping when he reached the side door of the building. "Hiro, can you get that?" he asked.

Hiro placed his hand on the doorknob.

"…Can you open it?"

"Oh," mumbled the boy, turning the knob.

Tadashi entered the cafe, pulling the door shut behind him while keeping hold of his brother. (If he was in Hiro's current state, he probably would have felt like a dinosaur, unable to extend his arms as he was.) He turned around… and was immediately confronted by the staircase.

"…Huh. Guess I didn't really think this through," he murmured to himself. Then he glanced down at his brother, who may or may not have been dozing off again. "Whaddya say, Hiro, do you trust me?"

Hiro opened one eye, then the other, then replied, "…Sure."

"Good enough," Tadashi nodded. "Hold on, okay?"

Hiro grabbed Tadashi's ear.

A less patient man probably would have dropped the kid, but Tadashi remained levelheaded as he clarified, "No, around my neck, buddy."

Hiro huffed, hooking his right arm behind Tadashi's neck, "Well you didn't _say_ that!"

"I'm saying it now." With that, Tadashi slowly made his way up the stairs, letting go of Hiro with one arm and placing his hand on the banister.

"Why don't we have an elevator?" asked Hiro.

"I don't think we have anywhere to put one," Tadashi replied calmly.

"No no, we can just take the stairs out and put it right here." Hiro swung his left arm above the steps to enforce the point he thought he was making.

"…Do you mean an escalator?"

"Yeah!" Upon his grand realization, Hiro smacked Tadashi in the throat (which nearly made him choke). "I always mix those up!"

"Well I guess—" Tadashi coughed. "I guess we're gonna have to build one, huh?"

"…One what?"

"Nothing." Finally, they reached the top of the stairs. "We're back!" called Tadashi.

Hiro echoed, "We're baaaack!" Then he stage-whispered to his brother, "Where are we back from?"

Cass leaned over the kitchen counter. "Hey!" she smiled. "How'd it go?"

"Pretty good," Tadashi responded, heading for the couch so he could put Hiro down. "He only bit one nurse."

His aunt froze, eyes wide. "What?"

Tadashi was quick to reply, "Kidding! I'm kidding! There was no biting!"

"That poor nurse. Was she mad that I bit her?"

"You didn't bite anyone, Hiro."

"Oh, good."

Cass glanced at her younger nephew sprawled across the couch. "Has he been like this all day?" she murmured as Tadashi made his way over to her.

He could tell she was trying not to laugh. "Since we left the dentist, yeah, pretty much."

"Where's Baymax?" Hiro asked loudly.

Tadashi leaned back and called over his shoulder, "He's upstairs, you want me to get him?"

"Yeeeeaaaahhh," his brother whined.

Pushing himself away from the counter, Tadashi turned around and made his way upstairs. At the top of the staircase, he scanned the room, and when he came up empty, he resorted to tossing stuff around. "And he calls _me_ messy," he grumbled, kicking aside a pair of Hiro's sneakers. Finally, he found Baymax's case buried under one of his brother's blueprints. He threw the paper onto Hiro's desk, picked up the case, and started back downstairs.

"Hiro, stop that."

When Tadashi had cleared the last step, he looked across the room and saw Cass standing over Hiro as he rubbed his face against the couch cushions. "I am in a lot of pain!" he whimpered, seemingly ignoring Mochi curled up on his back.

"I know, sweetie," Cass replied, stroking his head, "but that's not gonna help."

Tadashi had barely put the case on the floor in front of his mother before Hiro moaned, "Oooowwwwww."

Instantly, the case expanded and Baymax quickly inflated to his full height. He looked down at Hiro and waved. "Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. What seems to be the trouble, Hiro?"

When Hiro lifted his head, his entire face lit up. He flipped over, nearly throwing Mochi to the floor before the cat could jump down for himself. "Heeeey, Baymax!" he exclaimed, holding up a fist. The robot barely had time to react before Hiro pulled his hand back, attempting at an explosion sound. (If asked, though, Tadashi and Cass both would have said it sounded more like a dying duck.)

At first, Baymax was silent —leave it to Hiro to confuse a robot, thought Tadashi— but after a moment, he went on, "I heard a sound of distress."

"Yeah, I hurt," Hiro complained, glaring at his family as if it were their fault (which they, of course, thought was hilarious).

"I will scan you for injuries… Scan complete. You have had your wisdom teeth removed. You also appear to be recovering from anesthesia."

Hiro blinked. "…Since when?"

"We just got home from the dentist about ten minutes ago, bud," said Tadashi.

The boy looked around in confusion, like he was trying to recall his entire life up to this point. "Nuh-uh!" he replied.

"Yeah."

"But…" Again, Hiro went quiet. After a few seconds, he put a hand to his head. "I think I'm thinking too hard," he groaned.

Tadashi glanced over at Cass and, holding back a laugh, mouthed, " _What_?" She only shrugged in response.

"Do you need a cold compress?" Baymax asked Hiro.

"Yeah, I think I do."

Baymax held out a hand, which emitted a faint blue glow as he pressed it against Hiro's face. Hiro immediately relaxed, letting out a loud, almost exaggerated sigh of relief.

With a grin, Cass headed back for the kitchen, Tadashi following close behind. He leaned on the counter as she took a bowl out of one of the cabinets and said softly, "I thought you wanted me to bring him 'cause you were busy today."

She shrugged. "It wound up being a slow day so I closed up a little early."

"Is my mouth bleeding?!" Hiro yelled.

"A loss of blood is common after dental surgery," answered Baymax. "I can provide you with some cotton."

"I hate to say it," Cass muttered, "but… I kinda wish I'd been there to see this from the start."

For a moment, Tadashi seemed hesitant to reply. Then he pulled his phone out of his pocket, and, after a few screen-taps, held it up in front of Cass, revealing what appeared to be a video of Hiro still at the dentist.

Her eyes widened. "You didn't."

"Don't tell him," Tadashi insisted, once again fighting a smile. "I just wanted it in case I ever need something to laugh at."

His aunt's eyes darted back and forth before she whispered, "Send me that."

"Absolutely."

"Are you satisfied with your care?"

Hiro turned onto his side, tucking Baymax's hand under his cheek. "Not yet."


End file.
